


Saturday - The Christmas Elf

by KatieDingo



Series: Days of Wine and Epiphanies [3]
Category: Last Tango In Halifax
Genre: 2020, COVID-19, Caroline’s scarves are put to good use, Christmas, F/F, Gillian saves the day, slightly smutty but lots of care
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:33:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28408554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatieDingo/pseuds/KatieDingo
Summary: After a hellish year, Caroline and Gillian take a day off. Caroline is visited by the Christmas Elf and shenanigans ensue.Set a couple of years after The Crushing Beauty of the Cosmos because they’re an established couple and living at Caroline’s place, but it can easily be read as a one shot. It’s set at the end of 2020 so Covid is part of it. I borrowed the four-pawed Ruth from S5 for fun too :)
Relationships: Gillian Greenwood/Caroline McKenzie-Dawson
Series: Days of Wine and Epiphanies [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2110551
Comments: 24
Kudos: 50





	Saturday - The Christmas Elf

Gillian stomped her way inside the door and a flurry of snow followed her until she dumped her shopping bags and pushed the heavy door shut. She shook the snow out of her hair and yelled, “Caroline!”

A muttering of, “Raised by wolves too,” grew louder as Caroline emerged from the kitchen, closely followed by Ruth.

“Get all you need?” Caroline asked, standing in front of Gillian. She reached for the isopropyl spray. “Hands out,” she instructed.

Gillian obediently stuck her hands out in front of her, managing to hold back on the eye-rolling, although she was sorely tempted. She knew the virus was pushing all of Caroline’s neat-freak buttons, but being barked at like a child every time she came home was getting a bit much.

“You do know I was getting to it, don’t you.”

“Yes, well, I’m here now so...”

“Yes ma’am.” Gillian curtsied, holding the seams of her skinny blue jeans like she was wearing a dress.

Caroline was tempted to be sarcastic, but it was the end of a very long year and she lacked the energy for it. She paused for a moment. “I’m not being bossy, am I? That virus is—”

“I know, and I was going to...” Gillian started to explain her re-entry into Space Station McKenzie-Dawson, the germ free zone run by a Head Teacher terrified of accidentally knocking off her mum, before deciding it was time for the truth. Gillian sucked in a deep breath, held it for a moment, before releasing it in a rush. “You are being bossy, and its a pain in the ff-bloody...”

Gillian’s voice petered out as the gloved hands of her partner fell to her side and the shoulders sank in defeat.

Wounded, Caroline sagged against the wall. “Oh,” was all she could manage.

“Caz, I didn’t mean...” Gillian started, before stranding herself in her apology.

“It’s fine,” Caroline chirped, plonking the spray on the table by the door, the faux smile in place as she spun on her toes and marched back into the kitchen. “I’ll leave you to it,” floated in her wake, along with the scent of expensive perfume and the jingle of the dog’s collar as Ruth trotted after her.

“You twat. Pillock!” Gillian berated herself, hitting herself in the forehead to drive the point home. She sighed, unpacked the bags with the last of her Christmas shopping and started the process of spraying everything with antiseptic and wiping it down. Stepping out of her boots, she kicked them against the wall and carefully picked up the gifts and took them into the lounge, leaving them in a pile with the rest of the presents.

She knew Caroline was running on empty. Criticizing her was a silly thing to do. Responsible for the health and wellbeing of over one thousand students and several hundred staff, it had been a manic year with constantly-changing rules for Caroline to implement at school. She had nurtured and guided them all through the difficulties of teaching and learning at home, then safety protocols once everyone returned to school. Caroline had been working six or seven days a week all year and now, three days before Christmas, the bags under her eyes were in danger of becoming permanent and the protective shell she’d so carefully built over the years was in tatters around her shins.

Gillian knew she needed to do something.

She paced around the coffee table, sat on the couch and then stood up suddenly a number of times before a solution came to her. She smiled. It seemed so obvious. Gillian walked slowly into the kitchen to find Caroline deep in thought, peeling potatoes. Preparing dinner seemed such a mundane thing to do, and yet as an act of love, it was something Caroline did for them all most nights.

The farmer stood behind her, gently placing her hands on the blonde’s shoulders. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I didn’t mean to snap. I’m a pillock, you know that.”

Caroline tilted her head, resting it on one of Gillian’s strong hands. She had realised through bitter experience it was better to apologise immediately rather than to wait and risk making it worse. She didn’t have the energy to turn their relationship into a battleground. “I know. I’m sorry too.”

Gillian squeezed her shoulders, reaffirming their connection, and sat down next to Caroline. She wasn’t sure quite how to broach the topic, but sucked in her courage and came out with it.

“You’ve run yourself ragged all year. You have taken the weight of the world on your shoulders and it is time for you to have a break.” She could see Caroline was listening, so she boldly continued. “I have a solution.”

“What?” Caroline asked, genuinely intrigued.

“I make all the decisions for the next 24 hours.”

Caroline gasped. “24...”

“Yep. For 24 hours I make all the decisions. You say ‘yes’ and do exactly as I say. No questions asked. For a whole day you have no responsibilities except to say ‘yes’. That’s it.”

Gillian held her breath, watching a thousand responses and a million questions travel across the tired face in front of her.

“I don’t know...”

“I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to, and you can tell me if it’s really awful, but I promise it won’t be that. I just... it’s enough, don’t you think? Don’t you think you should just stop, for a day, stop being in charge, stop having to think of all the repercussions of everything, stop having to look after everyone else, just for a day?”

Caroline’s eyes closed and she leaned towards her lover. When their foreheads touched, Caroline relaxed and Gillian could hear a single, quiet word. “Okay.”

Gillian grinned, promising to look after Caroline, that she wouldn’t regret it. Gillian’s first instruction was for Caroline to have a shower and go to bed for a couple of hours.

“You’re knackered and you’re no use to me like this. Bed, young lady, and I’ll not be having any to do about it.”

Caroline snorted, relieved the first order of business was something she was so desperate for. “I haven’t been young in a very long time,” she chuckled, feeling about 300 years old. She spotted Gillian raising a finger to object and quickly softened. “Thank you,” she whispered before hugging Gillian and trudging slowly toward the stairs.

While Caroline slept, Gillian finished the dinner preparation, wrapped the last of the presents and tidied the lounge ready for the Christmas Day guests. She was thankful it was Ellie’s and Raff’s turn with the kids this week, so the two adults had the house to themselves. It had been such a stressful year they’d found it easier for everyone, including the girls, if the youngsters were housed together, each family taking a week in turn to share the load. The arrangement had started when the schools closed, but they’d continued during all the madness as it suited Flora and Calamity.

While busy with the evening chores, Gillian planned for the rest of the night, wondering how Caroline would respond. She was hopeful, but they’d never done anything like this before. Caroline liked being in charge and would rarely relinquish the reins willingly, but she seemed to like it when Gillian took over for a bit, especially when they were in bed. A different game was starting to hatch in Gillian’s head, and she could barely hide the smirk when Caroline finally emerged for a late dinner.

A soft kiss on the side of Gillian’s face before a thank you and they sat down for a companionable meal. The red wine flowed while Gillian washed up, refusing offers of assistance and generally keeping Caroline entertained with stories of the stubborn ewes she’d handled this morning.

Dinner dealt with, Gillian handed Caroline one end of a fresh tea towel and issued the next instruction.

“Stand up, hang onto that, and follow me.”

Caroline smiled, not sure what it was about, but curious as to the game.

“Okay.”

The Head Teacher stood and placidly followed Gillian out of the kitchen, into the lounge, around the coffee table and back into the kitchen. Ruth had loyally followed Caroline around the house but after a lap she was bemused by the odd behaviour and sat in the hallway to watch. Around the women went again, and on the third lap of the bottom floor of the house, sleep-deprived Caroline voiced her doubts about the enterprise.

“Gillian, what is this about?”

“Nothing. Just wanted to see if you’d follow me,” Gillian admitted, sporting a impish grin.

“What!” Caroline snorted. “You twat!”

Caroline stopped where she was, refusing to budge.

Gillian laughed, “And there I was thinking we wouldn’t finish two laps before you packed it in. It only took the dog one!”

Caroline launched herself at Gillian, knowing all the ticklish spots and she went for them. Moments later they were both on the couch in a tickle fest, and it was only when Gillian finally managed to catch both Caroline’s hands that they stopped, tears running down their cheeks from so much laughter.

Gillian caressed the blonde’s face, relishing the smooth skin, running her thumbs gently over the dark smudges under the eyes before kissing Caroline softly. Gillian smiled and stood up, offering Caroline a hand.

“Come on, Sleeping Beauty. Time for bed.”

Caroline laughed, feeling lighter than she’d been for days. “All right.” She smiled, fondly looking at Gillian as she followed her up the stairs.

Once she was inside the bedroom, Caroline flopped on the bed and crawled under the covers, tiredness creeping up on her against her wishes. She snuggled against the warm body of the farmer who joined her, settling for the night under the arm soothingly bringing them even closer.

“No other instructions?” She mumbled into Gillian’s chest.

“Nope. Plenty of time tomorrow.”

A loving squeeze was all Caroline was aware of before sleep took her again.

* * *

Caroline knew it must be late because when she opened her eyes the light filtering through the curtains was streaming across the bed. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept for so long, but was hugely relieved the grey exhaustion had lifted. Stretching, she reached for Gillian to find the bed filled with a canine instead.

“Morning Ruth,” she murmured, pulling the furry animal into a big hug. She laughed when Ruth decided that meant game time and leapt up, excitement dripping from her mouth along with her tongue.

The door swung open and there stood a large elf, entirely dressed in green, other than the red floppy hat with the white Pom Pom indicative of Santa.

“Merry nearly Christmas! And goodwill to all gorgeous women,” sang Gillian, a vision in green. She crawled onto the bed to nudge Ruth out of the way so she could kiss Caroline. “Back off pooch. She’s mine,” declared the elf, daring the dog to disagree.

Caroline laughed, absentmindedly patting the dog while drawing Gillian in for another kiss.

“Merry nearly Christmas to you too, Elf. You are an elf, aren’t you? I haven’t bollocksed it up with a Christmas Past or Future, or something equally horrendous have I?”

The elf chuckled. “Nope. You’re safe. I’m the Christmas Elf, here to make you happy.”

“Oh. Really? That could be fun,” Caroline declared, not entirely sure what that meant. “I’m presuming the meaning will become apparent in due course.”

“Oh yes, it will.”

Gillian sat cross legged on the bed holding Caroline’s hand, thumb caressing the soft skin as the plan was explained.

“It’s going to snow later so we’re not going out. I’ve called the kids and they’re fine. I’ve called me dad and he and Celia are fine. I’ve told them all that you’re having a day off and they can sort their own ff-bloody messes out for a change and they’re not to call. I’ve turned off our phones, _aaaand_ I’ve unplugged the main phone for good measure.” She chuckled, thinking of the dozy bugger of an ex-husband who kept dropping around to emotionally sponge off his ex. “I’ve also locked the doors so if anyone drops around, they can all go and ff-do one!”

She grabs both of Caroline’s hands and looks intently into her lover’s eyes. “This day is for you and you are not to make any decisions at all. Not a one. We’re going to give that big brain of yours a rest.” She kissed the fingers between her own, before crawling to the edge of the bed. “Breakfast is coming. Other than the bathroom, you’re not to leave the bed. I have plans for you.”

The last line was said with a smirk that left Caroline in no doubt about the sort of plans the elf had in store for her. She squirmed happily with the thought of it.

Breakfast started with coffee, as per normal, but having it in bed after 10am was a rare treat. What followed was even less expected.

Gillian brought in a tray of small plates of different food, all things she knew Caroline liked. Piece by piece she fed Caroline, combining flavours in a way Caroline would never normally do but somehow it all worked.

By the end of breakfast Caroline felt comfortably sated. It was a shock to realise that until the last mouthful she hadn’t thought about work, or protocols or Brexit at all. It was then she understood Gillian’s plan and gratitude beamed from her as she affectionately pulled the farmer in for a hug.

Gillian blossomed under Caroline’s spell, moving the breakfast things out of the way. She nervously cleared her throat.

“Time for the next part of the plan,” Gillian explained, leaning forward to softly kiss Caroline.

“I’m hoping you’re up for being blindfolded.”

“What?” squawked Caroline.

“You can take it off if you hate it, but, if... if... I think you’ll like it.”

Caroline narrowed her eyes, very unsure about it. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Gillian, but it sounded like one of those sad and desperate games she used to abhor in her management days at Sulgrave Health. Ditching the ridiculous team building exercises was one of the great joys of moving to the new school.

“Is this some elf thing?”

“Nope. Well, it could be. I’ve always thought of myself as the Elf of Christmas Fantasies, able to grant them when needed.”

Caroline’s eyebrows flew up under her fringe. “Really?”

“Sure. Why not?”

Caroline’s mind was spinning, crunching though various scenarios and outcomes, rendering her temporarily speechless.

“I have another idea, to get you started,” suggested Gillian. “As the Elf of Christmas Fantasies, I’m going to tie you up, and I’m going to make all the decisions for you.”

Caroline’s only response was to stare at Gillian, mouth agape, no idea how to react.

Gillian, using seduction to persuade, started kissing Caroline’s face.

“If you,” kiss,  
“hate it,” kiss,  
“then we,” kiss,  
“can stop,” kiss,  
“but I think,” kiss,  
“you’ll like it.” This time the kiss found Caroline’s lips and developed into something deeper, more passionate, eventually leaving them both a little breathless.

Just as Gillian had hoped, Caroline’s brain was struggling to keep afloat in the sea of sensations, and she nodded, hoping it would lead to more kissing. She didn’t really care what happened, so long as there was more kissing.

Gillian smiled enigmatically. She ushered the dog out of the bedroom and shut the door. Two’s company; three’s a crowd was Caroline’s motto with regard to pets and sex and Gillian wasn’t going to upset the foundations any more than she had to.

Rifling through Caroline’s chest of drawers, she found a couple of longer scarves. She expected the complaints and completely ignored them until Caroline eyes were covered by a blue scarf that would match her beautiful eyes.

“You can get out of that any time you want, so if it gets too much, pull it off, yeah?”

Caroline nodded, fingers touching the blindfold, feeling the extent of it, experiencing the loss of vision acutely. She was tempted to whine about not seeing the elf go about her business, particularly in that gloriously tight T-shirt that reflected the green in Gillian’s eyes, but was distracted when one of her wrists was gently tied to the headboard.

“You thought that headboard was only useful for hangin’ onto when you ride my face, but it’s nice and solid and with all those slats,” Gillian sniggered, “It has other uses as well.”

Caroline gulped, completely out of her depth and well aware of it.

“What, er... is this...?”

The other wrist was gently tied to the other side of the headboard. She was now bound and blind, and completely vulnerable in a way she hadn’t felt before. She flooded with panic for a moment before a surreal calm washed over her. She trusted Gillian completely and she knew she wasn’t going to come to harm. What astonished her was the sense of letting go. The pressures to perform, to obey some external expectations of womanhood, of class, of status, bled from her like a sigh. All at once she understood she could just _be._

“You’re safe. I won’t hurt you. You know that,” Gillian whispered in her ear.

Fingers found hers, and through touch, Caroline could feel the end of a scarf.

“If you need, at any time, you can undo these yourself. You are not at my mercy; you have a choice. I’m asking you to relinquish control. Not forever. Just for now.”

Caroline moaned. Her body was already on fire, sensitised by the unexpected vulnerability of the moment. The knowledge she could untie herself quietened the last doubts she had about what was happening. It allowed other thoughts to fill her mind. The thought of not having to make any choices was more freeing than she would have imagined. The thought of Gillian being in control was more erotic than she could remember.

“You don’t make decisions today. Today, my love, your job is to _experience_ and nothing more.”

Soft lips touched hers and Caroline tried to follow the line of them with her tongue, wanting to touch, to taste, before Gillian pulled away.

“Today let the Elf make you forget everything that isn’t the here and now.”

Fingers slowly undid Caroline’s pyjama top, fingers lightly caressed the skin around her breasts and she sighed, skin tingling with possibilities.

“Today the Elf is going to remind you that you have a body, that you’re more than a mind.”

A tongue found a nipple and Caroline arched into the exquisite pleasure of it.

“You are more than a fixer for other people.”

Fingers lightly mapped the topography of her breasts, her belly, before reaching up to her neck. The fingers were followed by lips and tongue, and all she knew was the excitement of Gillian’s touch, the hot breath on her skin. She writhed and gasped with the luxurious thrill of it all.

“Today, you are no longer Head Teacher, daughter, mother, upstanding citizen, snotty bitch or any of those other roles you play. Today, you are simply, and completely, Caroline.”

* * *

Two days later, sitting around the fire in the living room surrounded by the extended family, Gillian opened her Christmas card from Caroline. Inside was a carefully written note in calligraphic script, and a small line drawing of an elf.

“Happy Christmas, dear Elf. I’m all yours, whenever you want to come and play. Love, Caroline.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to VivianDarkbloom for the idea of using scarves. And thank you to Dis Moi for your kind support and feedback.


End file.
